Rail fastening device



Dec. 26, 1950 F. G'. wERTz RAIL FASTENING DEVICE Filed June 5, 1947 FISA..

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Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES 'PATE-,NT OFFICE G.. Wertz, Cambria., Pa., assigner to Carmagie-Illinois' Steel. Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application June s, 194i, serial. No. 152,663

(ci. zas- 349) 7 Claims. l

This invention relates to a rail fastening device and more particularly to such a device fer fastening a rail to a tie plate. The railroad tracks are. subjected to extreme vibrations, noticeable deflections and a resulting wave motion due to the rapid' change from no load to full load as the the train travels over the track. It is desirable that the fastening means remain in the position in spite of this vibration, but when simple conventional devices', such as bolts or cap screws, are used in fastening the rail to the tie plates, the extreme and rapid vibration of the track structure under traflic causes wear on the small contact surfaces with resultant rapid loosening of the assembled parts. Special devices have been resorted to with considerable success, but ordinarily they are relativelyexpensive and many of them are so constructed that the strength and bearing area of the tie plates are reduced.

It is an object of my invention to provide a rail fastening device which is inexpensive andi rugged in construction.

Another object is to provide such a device which utilizes a standard tie plate without reducing its strength.

Still another object is to provide such a device which remains in place under extreme vibration of the track.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of my device;

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line II-II of Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line III-III of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a standard tie plate which is mounted on a tie in the usual manner and which is provided with the usual rail seating portion 4 for receiving the flange 6 of the rail. An inverted U-shaped member 8 is welded to the base plate 2 on each side of the rail between the seat portion 4 and the edge of the plate. A spring clip I is provided to hold the rails in place, the spring clip being bent to form two leaves with the top leaf I2 bearing against the underside I4 of the inverted U-shaped member. One end of the bottom leaf bears on the top of the rail flange B at point I6 and the other end I8 bears on the tie plate 2. A narrow throat 2|] is provided between the top and bottom leaves at a point between the member 8 and the point I6, The bottom leaf I8 has a hole 22 therein which is aligned with a hole 24 in the tie plate 2. The spring clip Ii! is fastened to the tie plate 2 by means of a spike 2t which passes through the aligned openings 22 and 24. It will beunderstood that other means may be provided for fastening the spring clip Ii) to the tie plate 2, but that shown is preferable since it eliminates thenecessity of additional fastening means.

The construction disclosed provides a long bending arm for initial movement under a low pressure of the clip against the rail at point i6. However, after the clearance at throat 28 is eliminated by movement between the upper and lower leaves, the bending arm is decreased in length and further'mevement of the rail is against a. high spring pressure. In this manner there may be some vertical movement of the rail independent of the tie, thus decreasing the amount of pumping of the tie in the ballast.

While one embodiment of my invention` has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modicati'ons may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Rail fastening means comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, an inverted substantially U-shaped member secured to said tie plate at a point intermediate the seat portion and the edge of the plate, an elongated spring bent to form a two-leaf spring clip with the free end of the top leaf bearing against the under side of the inverted U-shaped member, the other end of the top leaf being bent and joined to one end of the bottom leaf, said end of the bottom leaf bearing on the top of the rail flange, the other end of the bottom leaf being free and bearing on the top of the tie plate, said bottom leaf being bent concave upwardly to space the top and bottom leaves a short distance apart for a short portion of their length so that initial movement of the rail is against slight spring pressure and further movement is against high spring pressure.

2. Rail fastening means according to claim 1 in which the tie plate rests on a tie, the bottom leaf having an opening therethrough at its outer end, the tie plate having an opening therein aligned with the opening in the bottom leaf, and a spike passing through said aligned openings into said tie.

3. Rail fastening means comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, an inverted substantially U-shaped member secured to said tie plate at a point intermediate the scat 3 portion and the edge of the plate, an elongated spring bent to form a two-leaf spring clip with the free end of the top leaf bearing against the under side of the inverted U-shaped member, the other end of the top leaf being bent and joined to one end of the bottom leaf, said end of the bottom leaf bearing on the top of the rail ange, the other end of the bottom leaf being free and bearing ,on the top of the tie plate, said bottom leaf being bent concave upwardly to provide a narrow throat between said leaves at a point between the inverted U-shaped member and the rail flange so that initial movement of the rail is against slight spring pressure and further movement is against high spring pressure.

4. Rail fastening means according to claim 3 in which the tie plate rests on a tie, the bottom leaf having an opening therethrough at its outer end, the tie plate having an opening therein aligned with the opening in the bottom leaf, and a spike passing through said aligned openings into said tie.

5. Rail fastening means comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a member secured to said tie plate at a point intermediate the seat portion and the edge of the plate, said member having a bottom surface spaced from the top of the tie plate, an elongated spring bent to form a two-leaf spring clip with the free end of the top leaf bearing against the under side of said member, the other end of thev top leaf being bent and joined to one end of the bottom leaf, said end of the bottom leaf bearing on the top of the rail flange, the other end of the bottom leaf being free and bearing on the top of the tie plate, said bottom leaf being bent concave upwardly to Space the top and bottom leaves a short distance apart for a short portion of their length so that initial movement of the rail is against slight spring pressure and further movement is against high spring pressure.

6. Rail fastening means according to claim 5 in which the said bottom surface is inclined upwardly toward the rail and the said top leaf is in contact with the said bottom surface for substantially the length thereof beneath said bottom surface.

7. Rail fastening means comprising a tie plate having a seat portion for the base of the rail, a member secured to said tie plate at a point intermediate the seat portion and the edge of the plate, said member having a bottom surface spaced from the top of the tie plate, an elongated spring bent to form a two-leaf spring clip with the free end of the top leaf bearing against the under side of said member, the other end of the top leaf being bent and joined to one end of the bottom leaf, said end of the bottom leaf bearing on the top of the rail flange, the other end of the bottom leaf being free and bearing on the top of the tie plate, said top leaf being concave downwardly and said bottom leaf being bent concave upwardly to provide a narrow throat between said leaves at a point between the member and the rail flange so that initial movement of the rail is against slight spring pressure and further movement is against high spring pressure.

' FRANK G. WERTZ.

REFERENCES CITED rIhe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,852,469 Muller Apr. 5, 1932 2,524,134 Chidester July 13, 1943 2,380,991 Payne Aug. '7, 1945 FGREGN PATENTS Number Country Date 646,867 Germany June 22, 1937 

